I made fish cakes tonight, only 2nd time in 25 yrs as the first lot i made years ago were not a happy memory but thoguht it time to have another go!!
I mashed the potato with a little butter only and followed the Edmonds recipe and it was very soft, although they did - just -hold together whille in the pan afater carefully putting spoons ful in egg and crumbs.
Is there a " secret" to making them firmer and drier?

This is my standard recipe, if you call it that, subject to change according to available ingredients and number of people to feed.

Fish (fresh or canned salmon or tuna)

Breadcrumbs (fresh, blitzed in the food processor)

Eggs

Chopped onion

Chopped parsley

Lemon juice and rind

Salt & ground black pepper

Melted butter

Milk to bind

Shape into balls and roll in extra breadcrumbs - the panko ones are good and crisp up nicely - otherwise dried or more finely blitzed.

Regards,

Barbie Girl










Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/2007 08:51AM by barbie girl.

Thanks Barbie...thats what I did except for tte milk and lemon in the potatoes. I felt the spuds were waxy even tho they were old and a bit wrinkly.
I wonder if it was anything to do with letting the spuds cool off for 10 mins before mashing - they went globby and soft .
Cant see myself making athem again...two failures is more than a girl can be bothered with!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/2007 09:17AM by Maryloo.

Um.............I would suggest maybe milk powder instead of milk to bind.
Regards,
Dawn.





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/2007 09:36AM by Dawn.

...please note the absence of potato in my list of ingredients - the fresh breadcrumbs soak up the milk, melted butter and lemon juice and in my opinion make for a firmer, more 'fishy' fish cake.

Our son likes a leftover fish cake, sliced and sprinkled with S & BP in a sandwich in his lunchbox the next day.

Regards,

Barbie Girl



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/2007 11:23AM by barbie girl.

I mash my potatoes while hot but don't add any milk or eggs to them. Then allow them to cool before adding the fish and whatever flavouring/seasoning you want. That makes a really firm mixture which is then easy to dip into beaten egg and then breadcrumbs. I actually cheat here, and use my Tupperware hamburger maker. I put a good amount of breadcrumbs in the bottom, put a large tablespoonful of mixture on top, level it off a little, then sprinkle another good amount of breadcrumbs on top. Then I compress it with the 'pusher' and turn out the cake. I don't even use the beaten egg, the breadcrumbs stick nicely to the mashed potato.

Thanks Lorna, I think that the "trick" must be to mash whle hot and let it cool before adding fish etc and shaping,dipping and cooking. I may summon the courage to try again at a later date!

When our children were young I used to make fish cakes to freeze as I had access to good quantities of fish and they were extremely successful when we wanted a meal in a hurry. I used half a cup of non-fat milk powder to a couple of cups of mashed potato and then added a cup or more of flaked cooked fish (fresh smoked mullet was a favourite) and some finely chopped onion, an egg and lots of chopped parsley, s&p to taste. (Press in breadcrumbs.) No liquids added apart from egg. Different varieties of potatoes give varying results when mashed so it's better to use a variety suited to mashing if possible.
Regards,
Dawn.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/2007 09:46PM by Dawn.

I know how you feel about fish cakes - they are great, but when they fall apart it is not a pretty sight! And messy to dish up too! Anyway, this is the way I do them. I cook the potatoes either in the microwave or on the stove, throw some butter in after they have cooled a bit, and also an egg. Sometimes two if I feel generous! I sprinkle flour on newspaper and roll them into rissole shapes and then leave them in the frig for a while to harden up. When ready to cook I pull them out and hey presto - put them in the pan. But I think the secret is to leave them to cook and NOT move them around too much till they "set." That was my mother's instructions anyway and it seems to work. I used to cook them like pikelets and ended up with a MESS! The flour on the newspaper is a good idea too as it saves ANOTHER gluggy one! Good luck!

What - no fish in your fishcakes, Shannon?

Sorry, forgot to mention that I usually use a tin of tuna!

It is always interesting though to see how other folks do it. I would not have thought of breadcrumbs or dried milk powder - but worth trying some time in the future.

Good cooking.

I make fish cakes regularly and mine are similar to Shannon's (potatoes, onion, fish, egg, then some flour and breadcrumbs to coat not stir in). I think that the amount of egg can make a diference esp if you are using large eggs. Too much egg makes for a very sloppy mixture. I usually just add the yolk not the whole egg and use the white for dipping before crumbing. Also make sure the potatoes and fish (if you are using tinned) are well drained. Leaving in the fridge for at least an hour once assembled always helps too. It hasn't seemed to make a diff as to potato temp - I usually just wait until just cool enough to handle. Although the hotter the potato when adding the rest of the ingredients, the more the egg would bind the mixture I guess as it would cook slightly.




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/29/2007 12:16PM by ppppaula.

Well well well... will all you fish cake wonders just move over and make room for moi.?? My capt. magg thinks I Yes IIIIIII, make the best fish cakes in the world except he would like them a little smaller being how he likes dainty, Michelin *** food and I like gung ho grub.
My cakes used to be sloppy... but.. I found the secret..
Boil your spud.. Agria type in their skin until just tender. Drain and leave to cool until you can handle them. The take your RICER...sorry, but a ricer is the best as it just gives a lightness that mashing doesn't.
You have now riced your spuds. Lightly combining is the way to go now.
Add your lemon zest, spring onions (a whole bunch.. don't use onions at this stage as if you leave them they make it all sooo watery and yuk at cooking time.. add them just before you cook if they are what you want to use) and whatever else that isn't going to make it wet at this stage. Eggs are fine.. The whole egg or eggs..you have to judge this for yourself but for the two of us..3 large Agria spuds and a large tin of tuna - egg is a one egger.... I like to make the bulk of my evening meal in the morning so I can enjoy my cup of wine. The flavours mingle too.
Taste the stuff as this is important. It will be the foundation for your tuna, or crab or cooked fresh fish or whatever is going to make your fish/beef/chicken/cheese cake. A fine diced chillie lots of lemon/orange zest, parsley, coriander, and very important, coriander seeds crushed up with your mortar and pestle...Rest this until later in the fridge.
When you come home tired and grumpy and have had a glass or so, put the pan on with just a LITTLE oil or butter in it or baking paper if you think the mix is going to be a bit sloppy despite your best efforts.
Now add your fishes..seasonings..taste. No FLOUR or crumbs go into this mix. Lightly combine with a knife blade.

Shape into your balls and then, flour, egg and crumb them then put into the freezer for about 30 mins to firm up.
Brush the tops with melted butter. Rub a clove of garlic onto the pan.
Place cakes in the pan buttered side UP and if you are worried about turning them over and collapsing, put into the hot oven without turning to cook them all the way through.
A few capers don't go amiss and a wee topping of horseradish mixed with sourcream is transcending bliss. Sorry Barbie girl..getting carried away here.

I find that adding flour deadens the flavour somehow.
We all have our little ways and I know that any of you who cooked a fish cake for me would have me rolling in the aisles in ecstasy.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/29/2007 10:11AM by Kerry.

I lurve the idea of horseradish and sour cream with fishcakes,would be gorgeous using smoked fish,thank you Kerry.

I have the same problem with vegetarian patties sometimes and t'other day had added enough flour and breadcrumbs so decided to experiment with adding potato flakes - worked a treat!! They stayed together very well and cooked like a charm!!
Don;t ask me how much Iadded - my cooking is somewhat of a 'handful of this' and a 'dash of that' combined with a 'squirt of the other"

Thanks ladies...some great hehlpful hints and information here that have inspired me to have another go sometime!

Kerry. I followed your instructions to the letter last night and I would have to say that they were the best fish cakes I have ever eaten (the only thing that differed was that I didn't have coriander seeds so substituted ground coriander.) I put everything together just prior to dinner, so I could imagine that the result would be even better if they were made in the morning and the flavours were left to meld. The horseradish cream was wonderful - we had salad and fresh asparagus to accompany.

The recipe also gave me the opportunity to 'christen' my potato ricer. I bought it several months ago at great expense - the one with several discs - and promptly put it at the back of the cupboard and forgot that I owned it. I can see that I will be using it again as ricing is much kinder to a potato and leaves the starch content intact unlike the mashing and whipping process - more potato and less 'glue'.

Thanks, Kerry, for sharing your 'recipe' and, as always, for your good advice and humour.

Kind regards,

Barbie Girl



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/12/2007 11:18AM by barbie girl.

Personally I think that the 'trick' is to make your fish cakes, mould/shape them and then, this is the important bit, leave them in the fridge for an hour or two to really set before you cook them
Thats my theory for what its worth.

Barbie Girl,
You're my hero.... You must be the only one on FL who has ever even tried to follow one of my so called recipes...that I am aware anyway.
Wow!! it makes my day to hear you tell me that you enjoyed them. You must be a stupendous cook, that's all I can say.

Also the whole coriander goes stunningly with red cabbage which I'm happy to say still hasn't sounded any alarms or set off the fire extinguishers.

I'm sinnnnging in the rain... tra la la la laaaaaa
Oh dear, I'm dangerous when I'm happppypppppppppppyyyyyyyy!!

Kerry